Moonlit Memories
by Silent Eve
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and Shuichi wants this to be a special day for him and Yuki. However, things don't go as planned but in the end things work out in a sappy way )
1. The Morning

***Disclaimer: You know what I'm going to say, but here it is again---I did not create any of the main characters in this story, I stole them from Gravitation. I also stole song lyrics from Gravitation. I apologize if my stealing upsets you. Please don't sue me because the only thing I can offer is buckets of sap.***  
  
Tuesday 5:00am.  
  
The sun has barely awakened from its slumber; a lazy, orange haze crept further away from the horizon and into the city. The streets were empty, with a few cars crawling by occasionally: early birds wanting to avoid the morning rush, or party animals coming back from their late night outings.  
  
The cement pavements stood cold and still, awaiting another day of shuffling feet. They didn't have to wait long- -- there was already a pair of sandals shuffling hastily along the sidewalk on that February morning. The pink-haired boy looked from one side of the street to another, hoping to spot a store that didn't have a "Closed" sign hung on its door.  
  
"Sigh...I guess there aren't any stores open at this hour after all," Shuichi stared disappointedly at the "Closed" sign on the glass door of the jewelry store.  
  
He banged his head against the door repeatedly. "Open! Open! Open!!" All he got were three lumps on his forehead. With head down and eyes gazing mindlessly on the ground, Shuichi dragged his feet along the dusty pavement as if they were made of cement.  
  
Tuesday 7:00am.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"  
  
Sakano's desperate scream could be heard throughout the 1st floor of the NG Production building. Some of the staff even witnessed a tornado twirling through the hallways.  
  
"Shindou-san!!! Not a slump again! Not today!! PLEEEASE NOT TODAY!!" The two waterfalls coming from Sakano's pleading eyes got no response from Shuichi's expressionless face.  
  
"Maybe this will wake him up." The almighty manager K' took a grenade out of his pocket and polished it with his trousers. He then proceeded to place the grenade onto Shuichi's lap and casually pulled out the pin of the grenade. A wide-eyed Sakano flung himself to the grenade, snatched the grenade and jumped out of the window.  
  
A loud bang shook the window panes violently, and was followed by a half- burnt man crashing through the glass and heading straight for the other side of the hallway. Miraculously, the man unstuck himself from the wall immediately and dashed right back and caught a hold of the blond man's neck.  
  
"Maybe this will KILL him!!" Sakano glared into K's apathetic eyes with a face twisted with anger. Meanwhile, Shuichi sulked in his little corner, unmoved by all that had happened.  
  
"AAAAHH!! Why do I have to work with such difficult people?! One gets the blues every other day, one gets the guns every other minute! AAAAAHHH!!" The well-intended producer was close to pulling out all his hair.  
  
"Sakano-san."  
  
"Huh?" A word from the pink-haired boy froze the madness.  
  
"Do you know what day it is?"  
  
Sakano blinked. "It's Tuesday. It's a weekday, and on weekdays you're supposed to be working like all the other people!!"  
  
"No, I meant the date." The voice had a hint of irritation.  
  
"It's the 14th, of February. So what?"  
  
"You don't know, Sakano-san? I guess it isn't too surprising since you don't have..." the rest of K's taunt was muffled by the reddened, clutched fist of Sakano.  
  
"I know what day it is, thank you for your information." came the annoyed retort.  
  
"Aren't we supposed to be spending this day with our loved ones and giving them a huge surprise like all the other people?" Shuichi snapped.  
  
"You have a whole evening to spend with Yuki-san, AFTER WORK!" Sakano reasoned impatiently.  
  
"How is Yuki going to feel special if I haven't even found him a gift yet! I've been so busy recording this, recording that, interviewing here, and interviewing there that I almost forgot about today! Until today, that is. But, but...now I have no time to choose a gift!" Shuichi whined impatiently.  
  
"So that's what this is about, how typical of you," K' commented casually.  
  
"You have a new song to record today, you can't miss the recording session! Shindou-san." Sakano grabbed Shuichi's shoulder firmly and forced him to stare into his eyes. The only thing he saw in those eyes was defiance. There was no use reasoning with a love-struck, determined Shuichi, and Sakano knew it.  
  
After a long staring contest, Sakano gave up. "Okok, I'll let you go to do some shopping, but you have to take the song sheet with you to read over while you're out there, and I want you back..."  
  
"Sakano-san DAISUKIII!" Shuichi pounced at Sakano and turned into cat form and planted a big kiss and hug on his considerate producer, but the next second he was out the door with song sheet in hand/paw, leaving a breeze behind and Sakano's sentence unfinished.  
  
"...by noon...."  
  
Tuesday 9:00am.  
  
It was a sunny morning, and Tokyo's streets were bustling with activity. Cars lined up at red lights, and people in suits and uniforms shuffled their busy feet across the pedestrian crossings. A pair of brown sandals walked among the black leather shoes and high heels. The sandals stopped occasionally at display windows, and hopped merrily from store to store. They eventually walked into one of the stores.  
  
"Irasshaimase!" A friendly lady smiled from behind the counter. "What can I do for you this morning?"  
  
"eh..I'd like to buy a Valentine's present. I haven't decided what yet though."  
  
"Oh! You've come to the perfect place. What better way to say 'I love you' than a 24karat diamond necklace?" The lady smiled warmly, and gestured towards the large selection of jewelry around her. "We also offer custom designs so you can carve names and symbols onto a bracelet or a ring. Surely a gift that will last forever!"  
  
Shuichi's eyes glittered with excitement. He was overwhelmed by the selection of gold watches, silver pendants, and diamond-studded brooches all competing for his attention. His eyes rested upon a simple, golden bracelet made from several chains stacked together with tubes of lustrous gold wrapped around the chains at regular intervals. One side of the clasp was in the shape of a crescent moon, and the other side was a round shape representative of a sun. When the clasp was fastened, the moon wrapped snugly around the sun.  
  
"I'll take this one"  
  
Tuesday noon.  
  
"YUKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" a pink flash burst into the apartment bringing in a sudden rush of air, making the pictures on the wall shake a little. After everything settled down, there was only silence and two sparkling eyes surveying the dim hallway eagerly.  
  
"Yuuuki, where aaare you? Playing hide and seek, are we?" Shuichi spread a feline grin on his face and squinted his eyes mischievously. He scavenged the whole apartment: the rooms, the closets, the cupboards, the bed, the sofas, and even the fridge. By now the little energetic feline had become a disheartened kitty with ears drooping down, whiskers scraping the floor, and tail trailing behind.  
  
"Yuki, how come you're not at home waiting to take me out for lovey-dovey shopping, lunch and then let me cling onto you when we ride on the rollercoaster or walk through the haunted mansion attraction, and hug me tightly in the movie theater, then take me to the restaurant on top of the mountain overlooking Tokyo Bay and treating me to a romantic candle-light dinner and walk me home in the warm night breeze and then...and then...then..." Shuichi could feel his cheeks burning as images of "and then" floated into his mind uninvited.  
  
"Mooou! Yuki no BAKA!!"  
  
A pink flash exited the apartment door just as it had entered a while ago. The empty apartment was somber and still. Echoing faintly in the doorway was the whisper of a heartbroken sob. 


	2. The Afternoon

***Disclaimer: You know what I'm going to say, but here it is again---I did not create any of the main characters in this story, I stole them from Gravitation. I also stole song lyrics from Gravitation. I apologize if my stealing upsets you. Please don't sue me because the only thing I can offer is buckets of sap.***  
  
Tuesday 1:00pm.  
  
The sun shone brightly. On the cement pavement, pairs of shoes sent the dirt dancing around restlessly. Most of the shoes walked in pairs: a pair of sneakers walking with a pair of flats, a pair of ADIDAS alongside a pair of Nike, steel-toed boots with 2" platforms, leather shoes with high heels- -- the pairs of shoes drew closer to each other with each step, came close to touching each other, reluctantly drew apart, and began closing in on each other again as if there was an invisible elastic band tying the two together. Among these walked a solitary pair of sandals.  
  
Shuichi stared blankly at the couple cuddling in front of him. The girl leaned against the guy and buried her long, auburn hair in the guy's chest. The guy wrapped his arms around the girl's back and tugged at her waist gently. The two were in their little oasis, surrounded by an aura of happiness and comfort, but none of it stirred a happy emotion in the little boy behind them.  
  
A swarm of black shoes and knee-high socks zoomed past Shuichi. The girls were in high spirits and a big hurry as well.  
  
"Come on! We're going to miss the book-signing!!"  
  
"There's going to be a huge lineup!"  
  
"We're going to miss our class after lunch! Sensei is going to scold at us!"  
  
"I've never been late to her class before!"  
  
"Oh please! All the girls from the class will be going!"  
  
"I bet sensei is lining up right now!"  
  
"Ahaha..." Their laughter trailed off as they turned the corner.  
  
Curious of the commotion, Shuichi followed the girls around the corner, and found a huge crowd of mostly screaming women in front of the shopping center entrance. A large sign was hanging above:  
  
"Yuki Eiri book promotion and book signing event!"  
  
Shuichi's heart almost jumped out of his gaping mouth. He stared at the sign with disbelief. "Yuki has a new book out?! How come I didn't know about it?" Although in his mind Shuichi knew well that Yuki didn't talk about his novels nor was Shuichi interested enough to follow his work. In any case, Shuichi now knew where Yuki was and all of his frustration dissipated in a fraction of a second. He tried squeezing through the crowd, but the women did not yield even an inch and threatened to crush the boy with their thighs.  
  
Shuichi had to wait impatiently until it was his turn to enter the mall and lineup in the lobby. He tried to take a peek at Yuki, but there were too many people wandering around the area where the novelist was supposed to be. The group of school girls he saw earlier walked towards the entrance, subduing their excitement and screams. They kept flipping open the book cover and staring at the first page with grins from ear to ear. Several of the women in front and behind him in line also held onto the same books like treasure.  
  
Shuichi was heating up with anticipation, but the wait seemed to last hours. Finally he was within 10m of the booksigning desk, but there was still a crowd of people lingering in that area and blocking his view. Shuichi jumped up and down with all his might, and thought he caught a glimpse of blond hair.  
  
"Yuki!" he couldn't hold back his yell any longer.  
  
The blond head lifted up a bit. A few of the heads in front of the line turned back and gave the bouncing pink-head a stern glare. Embarrassed but evermore impatient, Shuichi resisted his urges and stood silently, flustered.  
  
The woman in front of him chatted calmly with the romance novelist. She was dressed for work, and had a sophisticated air about her, unlike most of the other fans who could barely stop themselves from blushing like a tomato. She flicked her long, silken black hair as she laughed reservedly. Shuichi stepped a bit towards the right and peeked from behind the lady. Yuki was smiling, too. In fact, he was laughing--- his eyes were two little crescents, and his normally sexy grin widened into a hearty laugh. Shuichi imagined dream bubbles surrounding his boyfriend, and immersed himself in the scent of roses that came out of nowhere. In slow motion, Yuki turned his head towards Shuichi, met his gaze, wiped the smile from his face, and replaced it with a nervous expression.  
  
"Please Shuichi, not when I'm working."  
  
"But..but...today's..." pleaded the boyish voice and puppy eyes.  
  
"I'll be working until very late today, go have fun with your band members." Yuki's suggestion was met with defiant silence. "Here, take this."  
  
Yuki grabbed a book from the stack beside him, and opened the book instinctively to the first page. When the fountain pen was about to touch the paper, the writer's skillful hand hesitated. Yuki scribbled something onto the page and shoved it into Shuichi's hands. He looked at the boy with apologetic eyes, but the boy's eyes hid from his behind the pink bangs. Shuichi wrapped his arms around the book and clenched his grip as he walked solemnly away from the booksigning desk. Yuki's eyes followed the orange-hooded shirt slowly as it weaved its way towards the exit.  
  
"Eh..I'm sorry Yuki-san, could you please sign my book?"  
  
Tuesday 2:00pm.  
  
The bright sunlight shined on the pink-haired boy. Shuichi held onto Yuki's newest publication for dear life; it would be the only thing he'd be hugging for the rest of the day. He wanted to throw the book onto the ground out of spite, but at the same time he couldn't let go of it. Frustrated, he held the book in one hand and put his other in his trouser pocket. Something rattled against his fingers and he halted his footsteps.  
  
"I'm so stupid! I forgot about his present. He could have worn it for the whole day. That way I'll be with him the whole day, too!"  
  
With renewed enthusiasm, Shuichi traced his footsteps back to the mall. When he turned the corner, the first thing he noticed was that the crowd of fans was gone. As he cautiously approached the mall entrance, he realized that the sign was gone, too. The lobby was filled with people, but the booksigning booth was nowhere to be seen. Shuichi went to the info desk, and was informed that the booksigning was over.  
  
"Yuki Eiri-san is doing a booksigning tour in several cities today, so he only stayed here for 2 hours," said the lady from behind the desk.  
  
"Where is he heading next?" Shuichi asked, unwilling to give up.  
  
"I believe his next stop is Chiba."  
  
"Thank you!"  
  
Shuichi barely finished expressing his gratitude before he pushed open the glass doors and bolted towards the train station. He ran with all his might, book in one hand, and bracelet in another. He was running so quickly he felt as if he was sprinting on air. He slowed down to catch up his breath and realized he was still outside the glass doors of the shopping centre, and the ground looked further away than it usually does.  
  
"What the?"  
  
"Not so fast, lover-boy," a voice with an accent teased.  
  
"K'! Sakano-san! Why are you?" Shuichi shouted.  
  
"Haha, what a coincidence to run into you here," Sakano adjusted his glasses.  
  
"Told you," K' said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Let me go K'! I have to get to Chiba before Yuki leaves again!" Shuichi tried to wriggle free and frantically threw empty punches, but in vain.  
  
"You are not going anywhere but the recording studio. I hope you've taken a good look at the lyrics because you'll have to squeeze a song out of it by the end of this day," Sakano nagged while he and K' dragged a screaming and kicking Shuichi all the way back to NG Production Company.  
  
Tuesday 2:30pm.  
  
No amount of coaxing, yelling, or threatening could make the depressed Bad Luck vocalist open his mouth to sing. Even K's entire arsenal of weapons of mass destruction could not elicit more than a lifeless stare, as if saying that death was nothing compared to the anguish he was feeling right now. Meanwhile, Sakano could be seen tornadoing through the hallways.  
  
"Yuki can't spend the day with you whether you like it or not, you might as well distract yourself with work," when violence failed, K' resorted to reason.  
  
K's patience was hanging by a thread. A hand rested on his shoulder reassuringly; K' turned around to find Hiro looking knowingly at him.  
  
"It's better just to leave him alone," said Hiro, and K' took his advice. Hiro ushered everyone away from the bench Shuichi was sitting at, and left Shuichi there to contemplate his loneliness.  
  
"Of all the days in a year, why did Yuki's book have to come out on this day?" Shuichi thought to himself. He couldn't blame anyone, because he knew this was great publicity for Yuki, him being a romance novelist and all, publishing a book on Valentine's Day makes perfect sense. But Yuki was also his boyfriend, and he wanted more than anything to spend what little spare time he had by Yuki's side.  
  
"I skipped my beauty sleep and recording session to make this day special, the least he could do was take a few hours to have lunch with me!" Shuichi pouted.  
  
He looked up from the spot on the ground he'd been staring at since he sat down and caught sight of the book Yuki gave him.  
  
"It's all your fault." Shuichi glared at the book accusingly. He picked up the book from the bench and threw it onto the carpet with all his might. A piece of paper fell out of it, and Shuichi picked it up. It was the lyrics of the song he was supposed to be recording today. Shuichi half-heartedly started to scan through the lyrics.  
  
Tuesday 3:00pm.  
  
K' and Sakano returned to the bench to find Shuichi gone. Sakano immediately freaked out and went searching feverishly for the missing vocalist on every floor of the building. K', on the other hand, went to the elevator and headed straight for the 3rd floor where the recording studio was. The elevator door opened, and outside the recording studio with ears glued to the door was Sakano, he seemed to be amazed at what he was eavesdropping on. Sakano saw K' coming, and pointed excitedly at the recording studio door, beckoning K' to come join his eavesdropping.  
  
With his ear pressed against the door, K' heard a faint voice that was unmistakably Shuichi's. He was singing:  
  
"ä½ãã¾ã£ã¦ããåã¯ããªãé¨å±, æè¨ã ããè¶³é³ã®ããã«ãç ããªãè¸ã«ã²ã³ã..."  
  
He was singing acapella, but what was more amazing was that the melody he sang sounded a lot better than the arrangement they had prepared for him.  
  
"He's finally snapped out of it! Pouring all his heartbreak and anguish into his song." Sakano was in tears, "It's so beautiful *sniff*"  
  
"What are we waiting for? Let's get to work! Get the rest of the band up here, now!"  
  
With that command, K' opened the door, and marched in.  
  
Shuichi looked up from his song sheet and gave his manager a determined look. K' was taken aback by Shuichi's sudden change of mood, but the change was for the better and K' shot back the same look of determination at Shuichi.  
  
"Let's start, shall we?"  
  
Shuichi replied with a firm nod. The door clicked open and in came Sakano, Hiro and Fujisaki. The day had finally truly begun for the NG Production dream team: the omnipotent manager, emotional producer, moody vocalist, empathetic guitarist, and gifted keyboardist. When their minds were set on the same goal, there was no stopping them.  
  
Hiro and Fukisaki warmed up their fingers as Shuichi put on his headphones and cleared his throat. K' and Sakano observed from behind the glass window with satisfied grins on their faces.  
  
"Shuichi." K' spoke into the microphone. Shuichi turned his attention towards the manager. "Sing the way you sang when we walked in. We'll figure out the accompaniment as we go along."  
  
Shuichi looked at Hiro and Fujisaki to see if they were comfortable with improvising and was met with two approving thumbs up. Shuichi expressed his gratitude with a wink. Taking in a deep breath, Shuichi closed his eyes. All his frustrations earlier that day were gone, and in retrospect, Shuichi realized that he was being too harsh on Yuki. Yuki was out there working hard and signing books until his hand hurt; Shuichi wanted to share his weariness, in spirit if nothing else. The smile he saw on Yuki's face at the shopping mall drifted back into his mind, and with that a warm wave filled his heart and gave him encouragement. He was with Yuki now, he could feel his strong arms hugging his shoulders, sense his slender fingers caressing his pink hair, smell his favourite cologne, and touch the glossy texture of his leather jacket. Shuichi opened his eyes to let the bright fluorescent light energize him.  
  
"Yuki, this one's for you."  
  
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	3. The Night

***Disclaimer: You know what I'm going to say, but here it is again---I did not create any of the main characters in this story, I stole them from Gravitation. I also stole song lyrics from Gravitation. I apologize if my stealing upsets you.***  
  
Tuesday 11:40pm.  
  
The apartment door creaked open wearily. The light from the corridor pushed aside the darkness in the hallway of the apartment. A pair of dusty suede shoes paused at the doorway, and emptied themselves of the sore feet that they had been cushioning for countless hours.  
  
Yuki hung up his coat and staggered towards his room, not even bothering to open the lights. The pale moonlight illuminated the apartment and covered the furniture in an ethereal glow. The door to his room was opened halfway, and when he pushed it open he saw the outline of a figure on his bed. Yuki moved closer and found what he had expected--- Shuichi. Shuichi was still in his orange-hooded shirt, and had curled himself up into a ball with a sweet grin on his face. Yuki planted a kiss on the soft cheek of his sleeping boyfriend, and turned around to unbutton his shirt. A book lay open on the nightstand, and a glittering chain rested on it. Yuki picked up the bracelet and moved towards the window to examine it, deciding against opening any lamps in fear of waking Shuichi.  
  
The moonlight bounced off the golden chain, giving it a mysterious glow. The design was simple: several layers of golden strands formed a strand, which was bound by tubes throughout its length. The clasp was made with a horn-shaped moon fastening onto a golden, round sun. Yuki felt some indentations on the clasp as he brushed his thumb over it; he squinted to take a clearer look. On the sun, an "S" was carved, and on the moon, a "Y". Yuki fastened the clasp to see the "S" aligned beside the "Y", and a smile appeared on his face. He placed the fastened bracelet onto the nightstand, and turned his attention to the opened book. He picked it up and angled it towards the moonlight.  
  
It was the book he had been looking at and signing in for the whole day, and it was opened to the first page. He had flipped to this page so many times that he didn't pay attention to it anymore. But now, under the soothing moonlight, he began reading the first words he wrote when he started that book and reminded himself of the reason the book was written in the first place:  
  
"Dedicated to my beloved: Because of you, I have learned to smile again."  
  
At the bottom of the page, Yuki found the words he had scribbled earlier in the day at the shopping mall in Tokyo. Unlike the illegible scribbling he had repeated hundreds of times before (also known as his signature), Yuki remembered the urgency under which he had to express in a few words the myriad of emotions he felt looking at the face he was so fond of melt into an expression of doom and gloom. In a hurry, he had written down the simple phrase: "Happy Valentine's Day, Shuichi."  
  
Yuki chided himself for merely coming up with such a commonplace statement. It was unbecoming of a romance novelist of such high standards as himself. He remembered the disappointment plastered onto Shuichi's face when he told him basically to get lost. He remembered fervently trying to meet Shuichi's eyes and to communicate how sorry he was and how much he wanted to be with him. He remembered the worthlessness he felt when he saw the sulky orange hood moving out of his sight. Worthless just like when he was betrayed by his mentor, unable to sort out his feelings and powerless to change the circumstances......Yuki slammed the book close with a thud to shut out the painful recollections.  
  
Turning towards the bed once again, Yuki stared at the shimmery pink hair and glowing silk-like skin and the softest, most peaceful smile. Yuki could not help but smile along. Shuichi's emotions seemed to radiate from that tireless little body and reflect off Yuki: when Shuichi laughed, Yuki smiled; when Shuichi cried, Yuki became teary; when Shuichi got angry, Yuki got agitated. Yuki teased himself for being emotionally dependent on Shuichi, but somehow he knew it was okay because Shuichi will be there, making faces, parading around in costumes, biting where he hated to be bitten, clinging onto him like a parasite and not giving up on his outrageous antics no matter how many times Yuki disapproved of them. And when the little ferret wasn't around, his voice and his face would linger in his head and constantly remind Yuki of how much Shuichi missed him.  
  
The worn-out body of the blond-haired man sank into the mattress. It found its way behind the curled up furball and wrapped around it. Yuki's chin gently rested on Shuichi's mat of hair, his chest pressed against Shuichi's curved back, his knees lifted up to touch the sole of Shuichi's feet, and his arms embraced the warm body lying next to him. And then...and then.....he fell asleep.  
  
High up in the sky, the curved figure of the crescent moon sat silently amongst the clouds, reflecting the intense energy of the sun and turning it into a warm embrace. The whole world fell asleep under the moon's hypnotic spell and the only sound left was that made by the hands of the clock, ticking the time away with unfailing persistence.  
  
It was Wednesday 12:00am. 


End file.
